Ladder construction



Jan. 16, 1968 G. PETIX 3,363,721

LADDER CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l G. F'ETIX Jan.16, 1968 LADDER CONS TRUCTION z W; a

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 11, 1966 United States Patent Ofiice3,363,721 Patented Jan. 16, 1968 3,363,721 LADDER CONSTRUCTION GiuseppePetix, 16728 Woodingham Drive, Detroit, Mich. 48221 Filed Mar. 11, 1966,Ser. No. 533,536 9 Claims. (Cl. 182-22) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aladder having two sections which can be connected for use either as astep ladder or as an extension ladder.

The present invention relates to ladder constructions.

It is desirable that a ladder be versatile and capable of many uses. Theladder construction of the present invention is so capable. Therefore,it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel ladderconstruction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a ladderconstruction which can be used either as a step ladder or as anextension ladder.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a ladderconstruction which can be used either as a step ladder, an extensionladder or two separate ladders.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the subsequent description and "the appendedclaims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a ladder construction embodying thefeatures of the present invention and shown as an extension ladder;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view to enlarged scale of the ladder of FIGURE 1taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG- URE 2, showing theladder in a different operative position;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view the line 4-4 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the ladder construction of FIGURE 1shown in condition for use as a step ladder; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view to increased scale of a portion of theladder in FIGURE 5 taken generally in the direction of the arrow 6.

Looking now to FIGURES 1 through 4, the ladder construction of thepresent invention is generally indicated by the numeral 16 and includesa base ladder section 12 and an extension ladder section 14. The baseladder section 12 is comprised of a pair of side members 16 and 18having a plurality of steps 20 located therebetween. Outwardly flangedportions 22 and 24 are secured to the bottom ends of the side members 16and 18, respectively, to define feet which, because of their outwardextension lend stabilizing support to ladder 10. The side members 16 and18 are generally of a U-shaped channel construction with the outerflanges 42 and 44, respectively, having lower cutaway portions 26 and28, respectively, which serve a purpose to be presently seen. Note thatthe plurality of steps 20 are provided with generally flat steppingsurfaces and are of a generally inverted U-shaped construction.

The extension section 14 has side members 30 and 32 which are formed ofa generally U-shaped channel section and are provided with a pluralityof rungs 34 located therebetween. The side members 30 and 32 areprovided with members 36 and 38, respectively, having outwardlyextending flanges 46 and 48, respectively. The members 36 and 38 arelocated at the lower extremities of the side members 30 and 32 and theflanges 46 and 48 are of a length slightly less than the length of thetaken substantially along cutaway portions 26 and 28 in the side members16 and 18. The front surfaces 40 of the steps 20 are spaced inwardlyfrom the forward flanges 42 and 44 of the side members 16 and 18,respectively, to define thereby a space suflicient in width to receivethe flanges 46 and 48 of the flanged members 36 and 38, respectively,and hence to define thereby a guide or channel for the flanges 46 and48. Note that the flanges 46 and 48 and the cutaway portions 26 and 28are substantially equal in length and extend a distance generally equalto the height of two steps 20. Thus when the ladder construction 10 isused as an extension ladder, with the flanges 46 and 48 located in thechannels (defined by the flanges 42 and 44 and the front portions 40 ofthe steps 20), the base ladder section 12 and the extension laddersection 14 while being slidable relatively to each other are otherwisesecurely held together.

In order to maintain the extension section 14 at a particular heightcatch and release means are provided and include a lever, catch arm 50which is pivotally connected to the side member 32 by means of a pivotpin 52. A portion of the rear flange of the side member 32 is cut away,to define a slot 53 through which the bottom leg portion 54 of thegenerally L-shaped catch arm 50 can swing. A generally hairpin typespring 56 is secured to the side member 32 and engages the pivot arm 50to urge the lower portion 5'4 normally through the slot 53. It can beseen then from the drawing of FIGURE 2, that in moving the extensionsection 14 in an upward direction (as indicated by the arrow marked up)the leg portion 54 will engage the bottom of the various steps 20 in thebase section 12 whereby the pivot arm 50 will be pivoted out of the way.Upon passing that step 20, the spring 56 will'cause the leg portion 54again to move beyond the slot 53. Upon moving the extension section 14in a d0wnward direction, the leg portion 54 will engage the uppersurface of the next step 20 and further downward movement of theextension section 14 will be prevented. In this way, the extensionsection 14 can be set at the desired height in increments equal to thedistance between the steps 20.

In order to failitate the lowering of the extension section 14, thecatch and release means include a release arm 58 which is pivotallysecured by a pin 60 held by a support plate 61 in the side member 32 ata point below the pivot pin 52 for the catch arm 50. The release arm 58has a leg portion 62 which normally extends beyond the rear flange ofthe side member 32. The lower pivot arm 58 is balanced to have theportion 62 normally extend beyond the rear flange of side member 32without the aid of a spring. In moving the extension section 14upwardly, the leg portion 62 of the release arm 58 will engage the lowerportion of the: steps 20 and will be pivoted downwardly to a positionindicated by the phantom line indicated by the numeral 58a. Thus therelease arm 58 will not effect the upward movement of extension section14 and, as will be seen, as long as it is disposed on the opposite sideof one of the steps 20 from catch arm 50 it will not affect the catchingaction of catch arm 50 with that one of the steps 26. The catch arm 50and the release arm 58 are spaced such that their leg portions 54 and62, respectively, can both be located between one pair of steps 20 atthe same time. With the arms 50 and 58 in such a location as theextension section 14 is moved downwardly, the leg portion 62 will bepivoted upwardly by engagement with the top of the steps 20 and will inturn engage a release pin 64 located at the outer end of the leg portion54 of the catch arm 50 to pivot the catch arm 50 inwardly in the manneras shown in FIGURE 3. In this position the catch arm 50 will be unableto engage the steps 20 and hence with this orientation the extensionsection 14 can be freely moved downwardly.

While only one pair of pivot arms 50 and 58 located on side member 32have been shown and described in detail it is to be understood that asimilar set of pivot arms are located in a similar manner on the sidemember 30.

In FIGURE 1 a pulley member 64 is shown secured to the upper one of thesteps 20 and hence by means of a rope 66 tied to one of the rungs 34 onthe extension section 14, the raising and lowering of the extensionsection 14 can be facilitated by manipulation of rope 66.

As previously noted, the extension section 14 and base section 12 ofladder 10, can be utilized as a step ladder as shown in FIGURE 5.Identical hook members 68 and 71 are secured to the upper ends of theouter surfaces of the side members 30 and 32 of the extension section14. The hook member 68 is provided with a generally arcuate pivotportion 70 and a generally curved stop portion 72. For use as a stepladder as shown in FIGURE 5, the hook member 68 is located over the studportion 74 of a headed pivot member 76 with the pivot portion '7 inengagement with the stud portion 74. With the ladder sections 12 and 14,apart as shown in FIGURE 5, the stop portion '72 engages a stop pin '78.Both the stop pin 78 and the headed stud 76 are located at the upper endand on the inside of the side member 16. A similar construction isprovided in the opposite side member 18 for cooperation with the hookmember 71. In order to utilize the ladder construction 10 as a stepladder, it is merely necessary to move the extension section 14downwardly until the flanged portions 46 and 48 are located within theremoved portions 26 and 28', in this position the hook members 68 and 71are in engagement with their pivot members, such as pivot member 76, andthe lower ends of the extension section 14 and the base section 12 canthen be pivoted apart until the stop portion 72 engages the stop pin 78. Note that in this position the hook members can be removed from theirpivot members and the ladder sections 12 and 14 can be separated andused independently of each other.

Considering again the ladder 10 as a step ladder as shown in FIGURE 5,in addition to the connection provided by the hooks 68 and 71, theextension section 14 and base section 12 are further held from pivotingoutwardly by means of strap assemblies 80 and 82 which also lock thesections 12 and 14 apart. The strap assemblies 80 and 82 are secured tothe side members 16 and 18, respectively. Since the strap assemblies 80and 82 are identical, only the strap assembly 80 will be described.Strap assembly 80 includes an inner strap member 84 which is pivotallysecured to the side member 16 by means of a pivot pin I 86. An outerstrap member 88 is pivoted to the outer end of the strap member 84 bymeans of a pivot pin 90. The outer end of the strap member 84 isprovided with a curved flange 92 which overengages the inner end of thestrap member 88 and prevents the pivot pin 90 from moving downwardlybeyond the position as shown in FIG- URE 5. The outer end of the strapmember 88 is provided with a hook portion 94 (see FIGURE 1), which canbe engaged over a headed stud 96 which is secured in the side member 30of the extension section 14. A flanged catch 98 is slidably secured tothe outer end of strap member 88 and can be moved to a position tooverengage the hook 94 and also the head of the headed pin 96 in themanner as shown in FIGURE whereby the open portion of the hook 94 isclosed and the strap member 88 is fixedly held to the head of the headedpin 96. The strap assembly 82 is of the same construction as assembly 80and functions in a similar manner with a headed pin 100 located in theside member 32 of the extension section 14. The strap assemblies 80 and82 are held to the side members 16 and 18, respectively, when they arenot being used by brackets, such as retaining bracket 114.

A flat platform member 108 is pivotally secured to the uppermost rung102 of the extension section 14 by means of a pair of pivot straps 104and 106. Straps 106 and 104 are formed to receive the uppermost rungmember 102 whereby the platform member 108 can be pivoted down tooverlay the top one of the steps 20. In order to hold the platformmember 108, when it is not being used, in an upright position as shownin FIGURE 1, a retention strap member 107 is secured to the platform 108and engages the top rung 102 and is provided with an aperture 110 toreceive a pin 112 which is secured to the rung 102. In an uprightposition as shown in FIGURES l and 6, the pin 112 engages the aperture110 and maintains the platform member 108 in its upright position; theretention bracket 107 is resilient enough such that the aperture 110 canbe sprung from the retention pin 112 when the platform 108 is moveddownwardly towards the position as shown in FIGURE 5. To furtherstabilize the platform member 108 in its upright position, it isnormally in engagement with the outer flanges of the side members 30 and32; the inner flanges of side members 30 and 32 are cut away to permitdownward pivoting of platform 108.

Thus it can be seen that the ladder construction 10 can be used as anextension ladder, as shown in FIGURE 1, or that the extension section 14and the base section 12 can be separated and two separate ladders can beprovided, or that the ladder sections 12 and 14 can be hooked togetherat their upper ends, pivoted apart and used as a step ladder as shown inFIGURE 5. There also has been shown many unique and novel featuresincident to the operation of the ladder 10 in these various forms.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the inventiondisclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, itwill be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification,variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fairmeaning of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A ladder construction comprising: a pair of ladder sections, each ofsaid sections having a pair of side members and a plurality of stepmembers located therebetween, channel means on one of said sections fordefining a channel extending along the length of said one of saidsections, slide means on the other of said sections being selectivelyengageable with said channel for permitting relative sliding motionbetween said members while holding said sections together, and catch andrelease means on said sections automatically operative when said slidemeans is engaged in said channel and having one condi tion for holdingsaid sections from sliding relatively to each other in one direction atselected positions and having a second condition for permitting slidingof said section through said selected position in said one direction,said catch and release means comprising a pair of pivot arms pivotallysecured to said section, split pivot means located on said pair ofsections for pivotally connecting said sections for pivotal movementabout a selected axis when said slide means is disengaged from saidchannel, said split pivot means including a hook member on a first ofsaid sections and a pivot pin on the second of said sections, said hookmember having a groove portion for removably engaging said pivot pin forpivotal movement thereon and stop means on said first and secondsections including a surface on said hook member for stopping saidsections from further pivoting away from each other after said sectionshave been pivoted away from each other to a fixed preselected apartposition.

2. The ladder of claim 1 with said stopping means further including astop pin on the second of said sec tions for engaging said surface onsaid hook member for stopping said sections from further pivoting awayfrom each other.

3. The ladder of claim 2 with said pivot arms located on one of saidsections and each of said pivot arms having an actuating arm portionengageable with said step members of the other of said sections foractuating said pivot arms.

4. The ladder of claim 3 with said arm portions normally verticallyspaced apart a distance less than the distance between adjacent ones ofsaid step members on said other of said sections.

5. The ladder of claim 4 with said channel means defining a channel oneach of said side members of said one of said sections, said each ofsaid side members having a flange portion spaced from and extendingpartially over said step members on said one of said sections to definethereby said channel.

6. The ladder of claim 5 with said flange portion terminating apreselected distance from the bottom of said one of said sections andwith said slide means comprising an engaging flange located on thebottom of said other of said sections and being of length less than saidpreselected distance.

7. The ladder of claim 6 with said catch and release means includingfirst pivot means for supporting the upper one of said pivot arms forpivotal movement from a stop position to a retracted position andfurther including spring means for urging said upper one to said stopposition at which said arm portion of said upper one is engageable withsaid stop member of said other of said sections and with said upper onebeing pivoted to said retracted position as said arm portion of saidupper one engages said step member of said other section as said one ofsaid section is moved upwardly relatively thereto and with said armportion of said upper one when in said stop position being engageablewith said step member of said other of said sections when said one ofsaid sections is moved downwardly.

8. The ladder of claim 7 with said upper one of said pivot arms stoppingsaid one of said sections in its downward movement at one of said stepmembers of said other of said sections when said one of said stepIIlfiIH- bers is located between said arm portions of said pivot arms.

9. The ladder of claim 8 with said catch and release means includingsecond pivot means for supporting the lower one of said pivot arms topivot freely with said arm portion of said lower one normally extendingto be engageable with said step member of said other of said sections,said pivot means supporting said lower one at a position in which saidarm portion of said lower one will be pivoted downwardly by said stepmember of said other of said sections as said one of said sections ismoved upwardly and will be pivoted upwardly into engagement with saidarm portion of said upper one as said one of said sections is moveddownwardly with said lower one pivoting said upper one to its retractedposition whereby said upper one can be moved past said step member ofsaid other of said sections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 477,393 6/ 1892 Weston 182-2111,05 0,273 1/1913 Hattenback et all 182-22 1,515,010 11/1924 Cardarelli18222 1,996,133 4/1935 White 182-22 2,277,392 3 /1942 Dahlberg 1822 1 1FOREIGN PATENTS: 595,705 4/ 1960 Canada.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner.

